How I Increased My Conversions By 35% This Year

kellyburdes · 07-25-2011, 03:12 PM

My fiscal year 2011 just ended and I gotta say I'm pretty proud of myself.

I grew my overall sales by 130%, and increased my profits by 89%. (In order to increase the sales I had to stop being a one man army, hire employee's, get coached etc, so that's why the profits didn't increase as much as the sales)

One of the things I'm most proud of is that I increased the conversions on my sales pages by 34%. This was not an easy task.

I tested a lot of things, headlines, offers, layout etc. But the biggest thing I did, I think is that I became a much better writer.

I tend to not be the most organized person in the world, so it takes me a long time to write good copy. My typical sales letter takes me 70 to 80 hours to create, I'm not sure what others spend, but it seems to me that I'm slow.

I've been sitting around a bit today and trying to figure out the most important things I did, and one of the most helpful things I did was read more winning copy.

Any time I heard about an offer in my niche that was converting well, I went and printed that sales letter out and read it. I'd mark it up, take notes and try to figure out what went into the copy.

Before Clayton Makepeace stopped selling his products I bought "Steal These Secrets" volumes 1 and 2. These are basically massive swipe files of Clayton's top promotions.

Clayton is one of the top financial copywriters of all time.

Each week I would select one letter from Steal These Secrets. Then, every night before I went to bed I would read that letter for an entire week. That means I'd read each letter seven times.

Then after having read it seven times, I'd print it out and go about trying to figure out the promotion myself, and think about ways I could use what I learned.

Overall this has been my best year in business. Not only in terms of the amount of money I made, but also in terms of my growth as a business person.

It's not always been easy - and I certainly haven't been able to lay around on the beach sipping Corona's and making money with seven clicks of the mouse, and sometimes my wife and kids thought I'd lost my mind, but overall it's been great fun and I can't wait for what's to come.

So anyway - that's what I did to become a better copywriter this year and increase my conversions.

How about my fellow copywriter warriors. I'm wanting more ideas so I can continue to grow....so what is it that you have done to become better?

Kelly

Ross Bowring · 07-25-2011, 04:12 PM

Kelly...

Congratulations.

Studying... not just reading great letters is the real fast-track.

In my experience, writing letters out by hand and "reading" them... take a sorry second place to giving time to deep analysis of the "selling sub-text" of work by Clayton, Gary B, et al.

Keep up the good work and the great results.

--- Ross

kellyburdes · 07-25-2011, 04:55 PM

Thanks Ross -

Study was the key for sure.

I write all my copy by hand because for some reason I just don't have the best creative process on a keyboard, but I only wrote out a few letters written by other writers by hand. For the most part I just spend a lot of time really diving into them and making sure to understand.

I improved almost every area of my business this year, but the copy is the one I'm most proud of. I'm in a financial niche that several IM people are also in, and I had a number of them contact me asking about hiring my copywriter. To say I was a little bit pleased with myself would be an understatement.

One of the things I really love about copy is that it truly is a journey not a destination type of thing. You can always be learning more and improving your skills, and to me that makes it all the more enjoyable.

Ross Bowring · 07-25-2011, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kellyburdes

One of the things I really love about copy is that it truly is a journey not a destination type of thing. You can always be learning more and improving your skills, and to me that makes it all the more enjoyable.

Totally.

--- Ross

Apollo-Articles · 07-26-2011, 08:10 AM

Nice! Must be good to get your competitors emailing you!

Sam

ARSuarez · 07-26-2011, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ross Bowring

Studying... not just reading great letters is the real fast-track.

In my experience, writing letters out by hand and "reading" them... take a sorry second place to giving time to deep analysis of the "selling sub-text" of work by Clayton, Gary B, et al.

--- Ross

Right on. I never really got much out of handwriting - I only felt enlightened after systematically dissecting winning ads.

@ Kelly - Congratulations amigo.

-Angel

Stephen Dean · 07-26-2011, 02:41 PM

I find any time I read copy or copy books in my spare time, the copy I write during work hours gets much, much better. The ideas come more quickly and flow more smoothly. And the mechanics strengthen, like upgrading from aluminum to steel.

Reading great copy is one way to stay in the zone. I reread the classics regularly. And I just took out my collection of Makepeace's Easy Writer newsletter the other day. All great help for writing great copy.

Cheers,
Stephen Dean

kellyburdes · 07-26-2011, 09:37 PM

Of all the people out there I would have to say I learned the most from Clayton.

I think I started to follow him just because I knew he did tons of financial copy, but then I really found that I liked his style and it works like gangbusters too. A lot of people don't seem to like his style, the us against them type things and whatnot, but it works great.

I'm actually having my assistant, well that would be my daughter and her "summer job" right now...assistant makes me sound a lot more fancy though I think! , print out all of the editions of the Total Package for me this week and I'm going to put them in a folder so it's easier to read them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen Dean

I find any time I read copy or copy books in my spare time, the copy I write during work hours gets much, much better. The ideas come more quickly and flow more smoothly. And the mechanics strengthen, like upgrading from aluminum to steel.

Reading great copy is one way to stay in the zone. I reread the classics regularly. And I just took out my collection of Makepeace's Easy Writer newsletter the other day. All great help for writing great copy.

Cheers,
Stephen Dean

darkonetoo · 10-23-2011, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen Dean

I find any time I read copy or copy books in my spare time, the copy I write during work hours gets much, much better. The ideas come more quickly and flow more smoothly. And the mechanics strengthen, like upgrading from aluminum to steel.

Reading great copy is one way to stay in the zone. I reread the classics regularly. And I just took out my collection of Makepeace's Easy Writer newsletter the other day. All great help for writing great copy.

Cheers,
Stephen Dean

Reading great copy definitely urges great copy!

When I feel I need a creative break, I read a little of Blair Warren's "... Keys to Persuasion" or "Influence" by Cialdini.

It always works for me.

DarkOneToo

07-25-2011, 03:12 PM	#1
kellyburdes HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 321 Thanks: 114 Thanked 77 Times in 57 Posts	How I Increased My Conversions By 35% This Year My fiscal year 2011 just ended and I gotta say I'm pretty proud of myself. I grew my overall sales by 130%, and increased my profits by 89%. (In order to increase the sales I had to stop being a one man army, hire employee's, get coached etc, so that's why the profits didn't increase as much as the sales) One of the things I'm most proud of is that I increased the conversions on my sales pages by 34%. This was not an easy task. I tested a lot of things, headlines, offers, layout etc. But the biggest thing I did, I think is that I became a much better writer. I tend to not be the most organized person in the world, so it takes me a long time to write good copy. My typical sales letter takes me 70 to 80 hours to create, I'm not sure what others spend, but it seems to me that I'm slow. I've been sitting around a bit today and trying to figure out the most important things I did, and one of the most helpful things I did was read more winning copy. Any time I heard about an offer in my niche that was converting well, I went and printed that sales letter out and read it. I'd mark it up, take notes and try to figure out what went into the copy. Before Clayton Makepeace stopped selling his products I bought "Steal These Secrets" volumes 1 and 2. These are basically massive swipe files of Clayton's top promotions. Clayton is one of the top financial copywriters of all time. Each week I would select one letter from Steal These Secrets. Then, every night before I went to bed I would read that letter for an entire week. That means I'd read each letter seven times. Then after having read it seven times, I'd print it out and go about trying to figure out the promotion myself, and think about ways I could use what I learned. Overall this has been my best year in business. Not only in terms of the amount of money I made, but also in terms of my growth as a business person. It's not always been easy - and I certainly haven't been able to lay around on the beach sipping Corona's and making money with seven clicks of the mouse, and sometimes my wife and kids thought I'd lost my mind, but overall it's been great fun and I can't wait for what's to come. So anyway - that's what I did to become a better copywriter this year and increase my conversions. How about my fellow copywriter warriors. I'm wanting more ideas so I can continue to grow....so what is it that you have done to become better? Kelly

07-25-2011, 04:12 PM	#2
Ross Bowring Cash Creating Copywriter War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Philadelphia, USA Posts: 722 Thanks: 589 Thanked 637 Times in 220 Posts Social Networking	Re: How I Increased My Conversions By 35% This Year Kelly... Congratulations. Studying... not just reading great letters is the real fast-track. In my experience, writing letters out by hand and "reading" them... take a sorry second place to giving time to deep analysis of the "selling sub-text" of work by Clayton, Gary B, et al. Keep up the good work and the great results. --- Ross
	PLUS... X-Rated Copywriting Secrets EXPOSED.

07-25-2011, 04:55 PM	#3
kellyburdes HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 321 Thanks: 114 Thanked 77 Times in 57 Posts	Re: How I Increased My Conversions By 35% This Year Thanks Ross - Study was the key for sure. I write all my copy by hand because for some reason I just don't have the best creative process on a keyboard, but I only wrote out a few letters written by other writers by hand. For the most part I just spend a lot of time really diving into them and making sure to understand. I improved almost every area of my business this year, but the copy is the one I'm most proud of. I'm in a financial niche that several IM people are also in, and I had a number of them contact me asking about hiring my copywriter. To say I was a little bit pleased with myself would be an understatement. One of the things I really love about copy is that it truly is a journey not a destination type of thing. You can always be learning more and improving your skills, and to me that makes it all the more enjoyable.

07-26-2011, 08:10 AM	#5
Apollo-Articles SEO Article Writer War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 516 Thanks: 178 Thanked 52 Times in 35 Posts Contact Info	Re: How I Increased My Conversions By 35% This Year Nice! Must be good to get your competitors emailing you! Sam
	AT LAST: "At Last...A US Writing Team That Delivers High Quality Articles At Unbelievable Prices!"

07-26-2011, 02:41 PM	#7
Stephen Dean Master Copywriter War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: WA , USA. Posts: 1,051 Thanks: 132 Thanked 194 Times in 100 Posts Social Networking	Re: How I Increased My Conversions By 35% This Year I find any time I read copy or copy books in my spare time, the copy I write during work hours gets much, much better. The ideas come more quickly and flow more smoothly. And the mechanics strengthen, like upgrading from aluminum to steel. Reading great copy is one way to stay in the zone. I reread the classics regularly. And I just took out my collection of Makepeace's Easy Writer newsletter the other day. All great help for writing great copy. Cheers, Stephen Dean
	Occupation: Best Copywriter Ever. Clients: Matt Bacak, Jim Edwards, Ryan Deiss and more. I write sales copy that demands champagne celebrations: Hire A “Champagne Celebration” Copywriter.